FIVE Kosovan refugees have been detained after being smuggled into the country in the back of a lorry.

The men ran off when the back doors of the heavy goods vehicle were opened at Exel Logistics Comet, on Ashton Road, Golborne.

The police were called at 4.15pm yesterday and found the group walking through the village.

Some of the men jumped over a fence and crossed the railway line close to Wigan Road but were quickly arrested and taken to Leigh police station, where they were interviewed with the help of an interpreter.

They have since been handed over to the immigration authorities who will now deal with their request to stay in the UK.

Chief Insp Alex Woolley of Leigh Police said: "It didn't take us long to find them. They looked east European and quite scruffy after travelling in the back of a container for days on end."

It is believed the men could have travelled through Portugal, Spain and France.

The driver of the lorry, believed to be of foreign origin, disappeared as the police searched for the refugees. He was still being hunted this lunchtime.